


The Thought That Counts

by Draconem_Effectus



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Birthday, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 16:05:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1750532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draconem_Effectus/pseuds/Draconem_Effectus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jude's birthday doesn't go quite as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Thought That Counts

He didn’t expect much.  After all, what was a birthday next to everything else that was going on?  If anything, he knew his friends would probably make too big a deal of it.  Once Leia and Elize got started with things like this it was hard to reel them in; and he only hoped Rowan didn’t get word of it before it was too late, he didn’t want a repeat of the last birthday they celebrated.

So when the day went by without so much as a word about his birthday, Jude was surprised.  He thought that at least Leia would remember the date, they had celebrated it enough together growing up.  But she seemed just as oblivious as the others; whom Jude felt had known him long enough to be expected to know his birthday.  He told himself he didn’t care, that he didn’t need anything; it was just another ordinary day.  But when night fell and he found himself sitting alone at the campfire, he couldn’t stop the tears from coming. 

Part of him hated himself for being so childish. It was just his birthday, what did it matter? But the other part of him hated his companions.  Was it really too much to want one simple “happy birthday”? Jude had committed their birthdays to memory as soon as he had learned them.

His head fell into his hands, and he let the tears come.  He was so absorbed in self-pity he didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind him.

“Uh, hey,” Alvin’s voice was tentative, like he wasn’t sure if he was intruding upon a private moment.

Jude’s heart fluttered and he immediately started wiping his eyes, trying to erase the evidence of the emotions he’d been feeling. Alvin was the last person he wanted to see him like this. 

Taking a deep breath to try and compose himself, he responded, “I thought everyone was asleep.” 

“Nah, not me. I had something to take care of.” Alvin replied, sitting down awkwardly next to Jude, his hands placed suspiciously behind his back.  Jude rolled his eyes; he knew what “something to take care of” meant. 

“Why are you still up this late? You’re not going to pull a Rowan and start doing midnight aerobics, are you?” Alvin asked lightly, his mouth pulled into a crooked smile.

Had it been any other night Jude would have laughed, that was one chapter of Rowan’s antics they all would have preferred to forget. But this night it only made him feel worse.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t be up this late. I should get some rest.”  Jude began to stand, wanting more than anything to curl up and be alone.

 “Wait,” Alvin said anxiously, placing one hand on his shoulder while keeping the other one behind his back.

The touch sent shivers through Jude’s body. He knew he needed to get away from Alvin fast, before he completely lost it.

“Alvin…”

“It won’t take long,” Alvin’s gaze seemed to bore into him, “I, uh… close your eyes.” 

Jude looked at him through narrowed eyes, not sure he was in the mood to play Alvin’s games.  But there was something in Alvin’s look that seemed genuine, and with a sigh he acquiesced and closed his eyes.  He heard Alvin shifting around until he was in front of him.

“Okay, open them.”

Bracing for the worst, Jude opened his eyes.

Sitting in front of him was the saddest excuse for a cake he had ever seen.  It looked like it had been a circle at one point, but now it resembled the shape of an overripe apple.  The entire thing was coated in blue frosting, which was piled up more heavily on one side in an attempt to make it look less lop-sided.  Scrawled across the top in messy black icing and framed by candles of varying shapes and sizes were the words “Happy Birthday, Jude”. 

Tears began to return to Jude’s eyes, and he brought his hand up to wipe them.  Alvin immediately looked distressed.

“Oh man, I knew it turned out terrible.” He looked down at the cake with a mixture of desperation and anger, “I’m sorry, I tried to fix it bu-“

Jude cut him off by throwing his arms around him.

“It’s perfect,” He choked through the tears, “Thank you.”

He felt Alvin exhale, and his arms came up and snaked around his back. 

“Of course. Anything for you.” He pulled back and looked Jude in the eye, bringing up a hand to wipe away the tears.

“Anything for you,” He whispered again, and before he could talk himself out of it he pressed his lips softly against Jude’s. Jude’s body went tense for a brief moment, then relaxed as he slid his hands through Alvin’s hair.

  

As he lay in his bed later that night, surrounded by the soft snores of his companions, Jude couldn’t help but think it was the best birthday he’d ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> A quick piece of fluff that came from a friend asking me how I imagined Jude and Alvin's relationship starting.


End file.
